Tango musicality
Tango musicality is the most difficult and yet the easiest things to learn.
First rule: you must always listen to the music! Very often we tend to focus only on the figure, so much, that the music may turn into some background noise. It has happened to me when I was fully absorbed in executing a certain step combination, that I haven’t noticed the same music being played 5 times in a row. Meanwhile my ignorance of music and excessive focus on the steps were driving my dance partner crazy.
The next very important point is that you need to become familiar with the structures of tango music. It is necessary to know, for instance, that the melody of a song is being repeated within the same song.
Tango musicality and instruments
In order to make the rest of it go easier as well, here is a fantastic video for you to watch, that offers visual help in understanding and interpretation of musical instruments.
Have you seen one dancer of the couple dancing to one instrument and the partner dance to another one? This video will help with deeper understanding of such dance situations. We are going to listen to Soltango Quartet playing the following 4 instruments: piano, cello, bandoneon, violin. The video was made by Natalia & Augustin: fb, web.
Once more to clarify: each instrument can be followed visually. Listen through the song while concentrating on one instrument of your choice. You can observe which one is following the melodic line, which one helps in emphasizing the rhythm etc.
Then repeat the same another 3 times following the other instruments.
One of the world’s most beautiful performances and La Poema
Once it is La Poema… Although the most famous tango song in the world is La Cumparsita, the most inspiring tango performance is definitely the one by Javier Rodriguez and Geraldine Rojas. Can you guess what they are dancing to?
That’s right, to the same song.
La Poema – Orquesta Típica Milonguera
One more interesting fact about the La Poema. One of its newest arrangements has swept around the globe, in which the 2017 Tango world champion Magdalena Gutierrez and German Ballejo are dancing. The recording brought big success to the orchestra, many people got to know them. Watch it, it’s very good!
